News

Avid Partner Trio Deliver Live Immersive Audio

12/06/2018

USA: Avid has announced that development partners Flux::, d&b audiotechnik and L-Acoustics have each integrated their immersive sound processing solutions with the award-winning Avid VENUE | S6L live sound system.

Each company has developed an AAX DSP plug-in that runs natively on the Avid VENUE | S6L to provide deep tactile control and software integration of their respective systems from the S6L surface and VENUE software, giving engineers intuitive, hands-on control over all surround parameters to deliver the most immersive and engaging audio experience possible.

“With more tours and musicals using immersive audio and surround sound to engage audiences, live sound engineers need an easy, intuitive way to manage the added layer of complexity this brings to the audio space,” said Al McKinna, Director of Live System Product Management at Avid. “These new plug-ins from Avid’s development partners provide the most elegant, integrated and streamlined solution for immersive mixing, giving users hands-on control of immersive audio solutions and access to powerful new tools for mixing in these new formats.”

A long-time Avid partner, Flux:: develops innovative audio software tools and plug-ins that are used by sound engineers and producers for professional audio, broadcast, post production and mastering. Its SPAT Revolution is a real-time 3D audio mixing engine that runs on a Windows or Mac workstation, allowing users to control the position of audio sources in a 3D environment.

Using the SPAT plug-in for S6L, engineers can use S6L’s array of surface knobs and software snapshots to control the surround parameters for each channel, allowing users to send audio to various amplifiers, speakers or headphones, or export the result as audio stems. Because SPAT is not tied to a specific output format, engineers can easily move to a different loudspeaker environment while keeping the integrity of the immersive creation by simply transcoding to the new speaker setup.

"SPAT provides mixing engineers a unique experience to integrate multichannel surround or immersive 3D audio environments into their workflow,” said Gaël Martinet, Founder and CEO of Flux::. “The ability to control and automate audio sources in the space straight from your beloved S6L audio mixing system is a dream come true for every sound designer.”

The Soundscape plug-in for S6L interacts directly with d&b’s DS100 Signal Engine and R1 Remote control software to mix audio to an array of speakers. This creates an unparalleled listening experience for various set ups – from a speaker on a stage to a full concert.

“d&b audiotechnik is delighted to partner with Avid to bring to our customers seamless integration between the S6L console and the sound design capabilities of the d&b Soundscape,” said Georg Stummer, Product Manager, Soundscape, d&b audiotechnik. “The d&b Soundscape plug-in opens up a whole new world of sound creation possibilities without disturbing the workflow, enabling artists and creative technicians to transact their ideas as fast and playfully as they arise."

L-Acoustics is a leading creator of loudspeakers, amplifiers and signal processing devices. Its L-ISA Live ecosystem consists of a comprehensive toolchain that can handle multidimensional audio projects at any stage. With the L-ISA plug-in for S6L, users have access to all ‘source object’ controls, including pan, width, distance and elevation, as well as a designated aux send, and all L-ISA parameters can be stored in the console’s snapshots engine and recalled in the same way as other console parameters.

This integration offers many benefits in terms of show portability and live interaction, and the loudspeaker layout can easily be adapted to location changes while maintaining the spatial properties of the mix.In addition to the L-ISA AAX DSP plug-in, L-ISA can also be integrated into industry-leading Pro Tools via an AAX native plug-in, opening up L-ISA’s 96-input multichannel mixing capabilities in the Pro Tools environment for sound design and other applications.

“The L-ISA Source control AAX DSP plug-in allows engineers to control their L-ISA mix directly from an S6L console,” said Guillaume Le Nost, Director of R&D at L-ISA. “As a result, sound engineers are able to use a familiar workflow and a single interface to manage an object-based mix easily and intuitively, for a variety of loudspeaker configurations, from frontal layouts to surround or 3D.”

Offering unmatched modularity, scalability and flexibility to meet any size production, space, or budget requirement, S6L is the industry’s only live sound platform with 100% software, hardware, and show file compatibility across all system components. With over 300 processing channels, S6L delivers unrelenting performance and reliability through its advanced engine design, backed up by modern touchscreen workflows and the scalability to easily handle large, complex tours and events. Like all Avid VENUE systems, S6L provides seamless Pro Tools integration and on-board industry-standard plug-ins, with higher track counts and more processing power than ever before.